what are your thoughts on drilling holes in the rudder to allow water
to escape over the winter?
The survey for the boat we are buying suggests that there is water in
the rudder.
Somehow, drilling any holes in a boat seems to be counter-intuitive to
my thinking.
How many of you have holes drilled in your rudders?
HD
I drilled them in my Oday when I didnt know any better. On my nonsuch i would fix problem of water getting in. It will rot the stainless and break someday. Always the worst time too!
Hi Helen;
My Ontario 28 had water in the rudder 20 years ago. It froze in
winter, and expanded the rudder...Ugly.
I drilled 8 or 10 1/2 inch holes from the middle to the bottom, and
poured in some alcohol. (151 duty free rum)
The guy from the marina even offered to collect the runoff to prevent
ground contamination. Nice guy.
The water drained out, and the alcohol dried the internal parts of the
rudder.
In spring, I filled the holes with epoxy, sanded and painted.
The holes still occasionally weep in winter. (I would too if I were a
sailboat on the hard)
However, there have been no other problems in 20 years.
And ...Holes in the rudder are unlikely to let water into the hull,
unless it can rise in the rudder post.
I did not have the problem in my Ontario 28.
Cheers,
Ed Collis
ORION VII
This is not a big deal. There is lot said about it on the list and how to repair it. My suggestion is to drill several holes in line below the the rudder post and one underneath, allow to drain over the winter and fill in before launch. In addition you need to fix the cause which more then likely is water seeping in at the top of the rudder where the post enters. While at it you need to fix where the post enters the hull. Dermal out around the post, clean with acetone and fill with 4200. Once done you will have no more problems with as long as you own the boat. I did two years ago and so far no issues.
Good luck.
Nigel Fontaine
Cat Tales 482
N30U
PCYC
Had a alot of water one year , used a grinder made a large cut along the bottom , let it drain , injected new foam and reglassed, Then drilled holes for years after due to persistent seeping,
Water was still getting in thru post area.
This year did a rebuild similar to description in our site.
It was ugly im there.
Have pics if interested.
Steve Bosc
Today we bit the bullet and drilled holes along the bottom of the
rudder. Water came pouring out (well, maybe not pouring, but it did
squirt out). Then the rudder was dropped and more sealing was
completed at the top.
After a few hours, the liquid coming out of the small rudder holes was
very very vicousy (almost like oil).
Is this a sign of anything I should be worried about?
We will return to the boat next week to return the rudder to its
original position.
Nonsuch 33
Dakin